True love story – heart touching love story

Retold by Carolyn Tobias. Carolyn is the second daughter to Bill and Wilma Watson producers of this website. She lives in USA with her husband who is a professional drummer.

What should have felt like an elated homecoming was clouded with weariness as Bill, now 31 years, was bleary-eyed from his Ethiopian Air flight from Addis Ababa to Singapore. The five hour layover was tempered by the fact he now had one more “to-do” on his list – replacing the watch that had broken sometime during the previous leg of his journey. The air conditioning of the well manicured mall was preferred to the dense humidity of outside, so that at least would be one benefit of enduring the task of shopping. Bill couldn’t help but feel the target of “tourist” on his back as he debated the necessity of braving the multiple jewelry stores. Five hours to kill alone only added to the predominant thoughts of loneliness that consumed him over the recent months. Energized by his ministry to the Ethiopian people, these past five years, he now faced the stark, obvious void of companionship at the end of each long day.

Brought back into the now with the haggling of merchants, Bill realized he had been staring at a case of watches and offering little feedback to the clerk who was touting the features of each one. Strictly dictated by his budget Bill pointed to a watch.

Wilma was just weeks away from Bible School graduation

It was the last “to-do” on her list of accomplishments in preparation for nursing abroad. She had heard some missionaries speak in her small farming community near Heywood, Victoria at the age of twelve and had been so deeply moved she vowed to give her life to serve Jesus where ever he would take her. This memory was matched only with a vivid dream at age sixteen, when she awoke in the night and knew beyond a doubt God had spelled out his plan. She would do nursing and Bible training, get married and serve her Jesus among the people of Ethiopia. Passionate and determined, it was this goal that had driven Wilma through her teens and years of schooling.

The satisfaction of being so close to the end of her Bible School was exciting. The life of the party, Wilma had always been in the midst of the action. A busy social calendar was all part in parcel of making her journey of life “fun” and was no distraction to her focused goal…until now.

The buzz around campus was the big BBQ pool party slated for this weekend. Final papers were in, exams were done and everyone was in unwind mode. Before the dreaded packing and scattering across state lines, the campus social committee had organized the event of the year. Without question Wilma would be there. It was a party after all. Steve was athletic and handsome. He would be there too!

Bill takes a step of faith

“You buy Sir?…good price, good price,” the ceaseless sales pitch brought Bill back to reality. Standing in front of a neatly kept jewelry stall, his eyes drifted from the watches to a nearby ring counter. The astute salesman noticed his distraction, and upped his sales pitch. “I give you good deal. You buy watch and get ring for your lady too?”
Coming out of the salesman’s mouth, the thought that brought a reassuring calm to his loneliness seemed all too real and quite absurd. But as Bill brought his attention back to the watches and picked up the obvious choice, based solely on functionality and budget, he turned the watch over and noticed the inscription on the back of the watch which read “Rebekah.” That calm he felt swelled to peace and Bill knew the familiar prompting of God speaking in his thoughts. “Buy the watch and an engagement ring. Just as I led Isaac to Rebekah in the Bible I will lead you to your bride.” Next……